That Time Again

Seems I don't get 'round these parts much lately.  It's that crazy busy life of mine, I tell ya.  It seems it's always something.  How I'll fit a job in the mix (a real live, hand me a paycheck, good work, pat onthe back, bonafide job) is beyond me, but I'm gonna try.  All I need is someone willing to hand me that paycheck every so often.  Too bad those people are hard to find these days.  Don't they know I have a college bound meanager to support?  Believe you, me, he NEEDS to go away to college  for both our sakes.

On to the good stuff......

It's that time of year again.  People are asking more and more each day if I'll be hosting my "Home Show" again this year.  The answer is YES!  Hip, hip, hoorah!  It's always a fun time.  I love showing my appreciation to my loyal customers.  Sharing a glass of wine and getting to know them just makes my day.  No hustle and bustle of crowded hallways and gyms.  No pressure searching for the perfect Christmas gift for Aunt Sally or feeling guilty about a personal purchase the week before Christmas.  This one is all for the fun of it.
I'll be cooking up some yummy snacks, chilling a bottle of wine (ha!  make that a case) and cleaning the house top to bottom in preparation for the big shin-dig.  All you have to do is stop on by, visit a bit, shop a little and share a laugh or two.  I'll take care of the rest.

One of those things keeping me plenty busy this year is my youngest son.  Graduating grade school and heading off to the High School is a big deal.  I am busy helping plan all the graduation activities and setting the stage for his success at the high school.  There's the end of the year dance with all it's regalia, a keepsake DVD of the past 9 years for all the kids and other assorted celebrations.  Truth is, this all costs money, and so, a portion of proceeds from this year's sale will benefit the fundraising efforts of the 8th grade parents.
Erik will be heading off to join his brother and the music program at Niles West High School in the fall.  I couldn't be happier.  The music programs and Fine Arts overall are top notch.  In addition to the graduation fund, I will be once again supporting the Niles West Music Parents also.  They do great things for the programs, the kids and the staff, be it band, orchestra or choir.  Scholarships, music lessons, trips, etc. are those out of the classroom experiences that make a program stand out.  So again, a portion of proceeds from the sale will again benefit the NWMPA.  Be sure to mention either of these great causes at the show.

Now let's get to it!

When:  Saturday, February 25th
             11am - 7pm
for more info, please contact me through comments or via email
and to whet your apetite, a little taste of what will be available for sale can be seen here.

I look forward to a great event.

The New Season

By the title, many of you may think I am referring to the mid season replacement shows on TV. If so, you don't know me very well. I am not much of a TV watcher. However, the Olympics do have me poaching the couch more than usual, and boy am I glad for the new laptop. Hoe did we watch tv and sports for so many years without the ability to tweet about them?



Well, enough of that. the New Season is, as usual, all about the creative. Once again, my "Studio Open House" is upon us. On Saturday, March 6th, I will be opening my home to all my customers, providing them with drinks and nosh, laughing, chatting and best of all, displaying my new treasures. It took several years and plenty of prodding from friends, but through the years has become a staple of my selling season. A chance for my loyal customers to get pampered and be the first to see my new creations before the show season begins. Though in my early years, this felt self serving, I was finally convinced to host this event and have come to love it. The ability to socialize and enjoy my customers in a relaxed setting where i can display my appreciation without the stress and chaos of a show is quite enjoyable.

So, if you're in the Chicago area, please stop by. I'll have a wine glass ready and trust me, the spinach dip can hold it's own. If that's not enough to entice you, there will be a great display of jewelry/trinket boxes (and a few other goodies) by my good friend Glassdiane and some great jewelry pouches, felted items and other handsewn goodies by my lovely and talented SIL, Ohsewhannah

3 Years!

Yes, Yes, yes, I am remiss on my blog posts of late. I admit it. Often I have great ideas and no time to type. It's been a nutty year and until they perfect cloning, you will have to put up with me, faults and all.
So, in keeping with my harried and chaotic life, comes a last minute, seat of my pants, no time to plan but glad I caught it in time sale.

Today is my 3 year etsyversary. Yep, 3 glorious years as a member of the etsy community. I have made friends, gained customers, learned more than I could have imagined and found a place that just feels like home. So, here ya go. I may not have a show schedule or an Open House ready to go as we head into February next week, but this one I caught just in time.

Black Friday

Oh, the shame of almost 2 months without a blog entry. As I hang my head in shame, I remind myself not to wonder why I have no followers. I give them nothing to read. No need to do the math there. absolute zero is absolute zero. ha!

So, as I sit here, coffee in hand, tummy still full from the fabulous feast, I gaze out at the rising sun and think, why? why, oh why am I awake? If I had planned to mingle amongst the crazies at Best Buy or walmart or some other soul sucking retailer, I wouldn't have been able to drag my tryptophaned ass to the shower much less out the door. As it is, I have nowhere to go and a goal of creating jewelry and some Christmas spirit from the comfort of my slippers and robe and yes, I am awake at 5am!

I am rationalizing this insane phenomena as a subconscious need to please my customers by promoting my Black Friday sale. I have painstakingly adjusted all 190+ shop items to reflect free shipping. Yep, Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Joyous Ramadan, Solstice Greetings, whatever it is you choose to celebrate, I honor you with merriment and free stuff. Free shipping, free gifts on orders over $100 and discounts on qualifying orders. Woot for you.
So, GO....now. Run.... grab those slippers, pour a cup of coffee and grab the mouse. Stake your claim in the virtual line of shoppers hunting for the great deals. Just do it from the comfort of your couch.


and remember............BUY HANDMADE.................always

Selling for a Good Cause

Tomorrow is April 1st (and DS#2's 11th birthday), but that's not really the reason for this post.
This is no April Fool's joke either. It's a great sale for a good cause. What more could you ask for. The entire month of April, I will be holding a sale in my shop. 10% off all purchases will benefit Culver School and their efforts to raise money for the purchase of an electronic sign.
If you've read my bio or learned anything about me over the years, its that education is one of my passions. I have been very involved in the school for 9 years now. It's no secret that times re tough and money is tight. Schools, especially in our area (taxcaps) are feeling the pinch more than ever. Every cent needs to be spent maintaining programs and providing quality opprtunities for all of our kids. Communication with families and the community is an everpresent concern. What better way to get out important messages than an electronic marquee. How to pay for such an addition to the communication arsenal is another story. Thus, the birth of this fundraiser. The extra benefit of seeing so many groups and people come together for a common purpose, building teamwork and enhancing realtionships is just the icing on the cake.
So, here goes!
Make a purchase and simply write the word "Culver" in the note to seller section. That's it! Done! 10 % of your purchase will go to the school fund for the purchase of the sign. It doesn't get any simpler than that!

More you say? You want more? How about this?! Etsy, being the great, supportive community it is, has seen several other artisan shops step up to the plate and join in. They too are offering great deals in their shops and supporting this fundraising effort. How cool is that?! Just out of the goodness of their hearts, they have similar deals available for the month of April. So, be sure to check them all out. You're sure to find something that tickles your fancy, and again, just a note that says "Culver" is all it takes to help the school. No extra $$ out of your pocket. You just get to enjoy a beautiful new trinket and we will enjoy knowing we are doing all we can to keep the lines of communication open.

The following shops will donate 10% of all purchases. All shipping fees will be refunded and items hand delivered.
kjbeads
ohsewhannahThe following shops will donate 10% of all purchases
ErikaPrice
The following shops will offer free shipping to you AND donate those shipping fees ($2.00-$10.00 per purchase)
yoboseiyo
theplushiefoundry
cameraforkitty

and thank you for your support!!!

The Follow Up that wasn't

At the end of my last post (if you canremember that far back) I mentioned a host of future posts. My head was spinning with ideas and not enough time for my fingers to express them all. Good thing this is a written and not oral venue or my fingers expressions could take a whole new meaning, eh?


The snow is piled high and I have no (urgent) need to leave the house today. I perused that list of ideas and though it brought a smile, no real story began to flow. Time must have rested my creative juices on those. I did crack a little gigggle at the Grandma kicks butt story though. How can you not love an 82 year old family matriarch that responds to questions with a sarcastic wit you thought had been stolen by her years and struggles. Ordinary conversastion can be difficult at best thanks to the devil that took her word retrieval, but ask her to comment on Christmas dinner or her desire for a cocktail and you might want to put on some body armour. I can only imagine the zingers that would have flown if we had had that bottle of bitters needed to make her a Manhattan.
She is one fantastic lady. The mark she has left on my life is deep and passionate. How lucky I am to have her. If I ever figure out how to extract some photos from the slideshow dvd of her 90th, I wills hare them here. It is chocked full of great ones.
So, I must move on with my day. The usual litany of bitchwork that with any glimmer of hope will be peppered with some jewelry creating. We will live with what we have in house becasue I am just not trekking to the grocery in this weather. Sledding hill maybe, grocery on a Saturday in a snowstorm, I think not. If push comes to shove maybe those meanagers of mine will hike to the Polish store for milk or bread.
If you too are looking for a diversion, you can always stop by etsy for the SNSs sale tonight too. I will have a few secrets to give away for the cost of shipping only as well as a great discount on my entire shop. There will be a multitude of other shops doing the same, so stop on bye and say hi! Mention you read about it here and get free shipping on your order.